


Two Problems

by ShillanSeva



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Mitchsen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22111261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShillanSeva/pseuds/ShillanSeva
Summary: Tumblr Prompt: Role Reversal. Aubrey takes a liking to Beca from the first moment they met, ambushed her in the shower and then was incredibly flirty with her. Chloe is the Aca-Nazi hell bent of kicking Beca out of the Bellas.
Relationships: Beca Mitchell/Aubrey Posen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	Two Problems

Aubrey Posen had two problems. The first of which was a tiny alt. girl by the name of Beca Mitchell who was the cutest pain in the ass that Aubrey had ever encountered. The second was her best friend and literal bubble of cheer Chloe Beale.

Now normally, Aubrey wouldn't classify Chloe as anything other than a godsend. She was the best friend that Aubrey ever could have asked for, an amazing roommate, and just a genuinely good person. That is, until Beca arrived. Then it was like suddenly something snapped in the redhead, and the only thing Aubrey could liken the mood swings to was the possibility that Chloe's body had been possessed by the spirit of Dolores Umbridge and Beca was a Gryffindor.

Chloe hated Beca. She hated Beca with a vehemence that shocked most anyone who had ever met the redhead. No one ever would have guessed that Chloe even had the ability to hate someone, let alone hate them as strongly as she hated Beca. Her best friend was Aubrey "General" Posen, one of the most easily disliked people on campus, and she still chose to hate Beca Mitchell, resident loner and newest weirdo at the campus radio station.

It was driving Aubrey up the wall. All Aubrey wanted to do was put together a winning acapella team. She wanted them to sing well and dance well, and she didn't care if they got along outside of rehearsals as long as they kept their shit together during practice.

Beca had been doing her best to field Chloe's anger. It had started at the activity fair. Beca had meandered by the booth and stopped when Chloe nearly smacked her in the face with a flier. And Chloe had been recognized immediately.

The year before, the Barden Bellas had made it to the ICCA's after a grueling year under the leadership of Alice the Terror. She was a tyrant in every sense of the word with some added song and dance, and she blamed Chloe for their loss—probably the real start of Chloe's problem. Chloe accidentally set the stage on fire during their last performance—something involving a broken heel and an unfortunate run in with a stage hand and his spot light. And Beca had seen the video and enjoyed it immensely. Needless to say, their first interaction didn't go well.

Which sucked. At least as far as Aubrey was concerned, because Beca was cute. And Aubrey may have flirted with her after Chloe stormed off at the activity fair. And Beca had sort of dug it and _might_ have given Aubrey her number—not that Aubrey would ever tell Chloe that. She would probably explode.

Aubrey had a serious toner for Beca though. The night of the activity fair when she had returned to her shared apartment with Chloe, Aubrey tried to convince Chloe that maybe it wouldn't be so bad having Beca on the team. This had led to a stream of colorfully phrased insults at the brunette's expense from her "ear monstrosities" and "emo makeup" straight down to her high school scene-kid chucks. Aubrey had liked the edgy look on Beca, but Chloe assumed it meant she should be in prison for arson or something. It was honestly shocking to Aubrey to hear the way Chloe ranted about Beca. She didn't think Chloe had one judgmental bone in her body, but apparently Beca brought each and every one of them out. Aubrey had decided then to forget about Beca for Chloe's sake.

And then there'd been that shower.

Aubrey was doing her best to forget about Beca. Her best, meaning she only sort of watched Beca on campus rather than full-fledged stalking her. She would catch glimpses of the freshman around campus usually with headphones in her ears or on her laptop. Sometimes she would be sitting with a guy she recognized as the other radio intern. Aubrey didn't like when he was around, but knew she couldn't let it bother her because she and Beca had spoken once, and Chloe's friendship meant more than whatever fling she and Beca might have had.

She was trying to give up on talking to Beca again. She really was. So it's not like she tried to end up in Beca's dorm after her morning workout the week before auditions. She just hated the gym showers and Baker Hall was the closest dorm to Barden's Wellness Center.

She had just finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair when she heard foot steps enter the locker room. The slap of flipflops against the floor made Aubrey pause and listen. She was technically breaking like ten rules by being there so she didn't want to get caught by an RA with good timing.

Whoever had entered was humming softly to themselves. Aubrey recognized the song as Titanium, a David Guetta song if she remembered correctly. It had hit the top forty stations not too long ago and Chloe had taken a particular liking to it. Aubrey would often hear it through the walls of Chloe's room at night when she was doing God only knows what.

The humming passed her and Aubrey returned to her shower. She pulled face wash from her shower caddy and closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of the soap against her skin, but when a voice rang out clear through the bathroom her eyes shot open.

"Shit," she mumbled to herself as she tried to rinse the soap from her eyes. She shut down the shower and grabbed her towel before wrapping it around herself and shuffling out of the stall.

The voice that distracted her was coming from a few shower stalls over, and she went to stand in front of it. She knew she was being creepy. She knew it, and yet, she was still debating whether or not to talk to the girl behind the curtain.

"Hello?" a familiar voice said. Aubrey's eyes widened as she realized she'd been caught. And then widened more when she realized who was singing.

"Beca?" Aubrey asked. Her heart stuttered for a second with hope. When Beca's face appeared around the curtain, Aubrey's smile beamed at the brunette. "You can sing?!"

The smile on Aubrey's face was almost painful. Beca's voice had been amazing. It was low and feminine and sort of gave Aubrey chills. Beca was slightly flushed and she wasn't sure if it was from the heat of the shower.

"The tone of your voice is beautiful," Aubrey said trying to back off on the excitement a little. She didn't want to scare Beca off, especially not now that she knew Beca actually could audition for the Bellas if she could just convince her. "How high does your belt go? You have to audition for the Bellas."

"Dude," Beca said, smirking. "You need to breathe."

Aubrey hadn't even realized how quickly she was speaking and she snapped her mouth shut. She met Beca's eyes and felt herself tense when she realized they were both very much naked. And Aubrey was very much naked standing in the middle of a dorm bathroom in a towel, completely out in the open.

Beca seemed to realize the same thing because her eyes dropped and slowly ran up Aubrey's body and ended finally on the smirk that had settled on Aubrey's lips.

"Like whatcha see?" Aubrey asked with a wink. Beca nodded dumbly and then shook her head when she realized what she was doing.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked.

"Looking for some action," Aubrey responded like duh. Beca snorted and shook her head again. "Showering. The gym's showers are gross."

The sound of footsteps entering the locker room startled Aubrey into motion. Fearing the arrival of an RA, she pushed Beca back into the shower and ducked behind the curtain with her.

"Dude," Beca said grabbing for anything and trying to fight the flip in her stomach that resulted from Aubrey incidentally pushing her against a wall. Aubrey set a hand over Beca's mouth quickly.

"I'm not supposed to be here," Aubrey clarified. Beca glared at her from behind the hand, and Aubrey glanced down slightly smirking and raising an eyebrow at Beca. Her amusement grew as the slight flush on Beca's cheeks broadened to her neck and ears.

Aubrey stood there thinking for a second. Beca really did have a lovely voice. She wanted to hear it again. Actually, she was afraid she would _never_ hear it again. "Hey you were singing Titanium right?"

"You know David Guetta?" Beca said, eyes widening.

"What?" Aubrey said and shook her head slightly. "Have I been living under a rock?"

Aubrey watched Beca's mouth fall a little bit and continued, "Look, I heard you singing. You sounded great. Could you maybe sing it again?"

"We're naked," Beca said, voice dropping incredulously. "In the shower. And you want me to sing for you?"

"It's not like I asked you to sleep with me," Aubrey breathed, annoyed. Though, judging by Beca's heated face and sudden desire to look anywhere but at Aubrey, she'd say that maybe Beca wouldn't have minded that. "Just sing it. I promise I'm not going to do anything crass."

Beca sighed with a vocal groan, but relented after several seconds of laser-like eye contact with Aubrey. Her rich, earthy voice filled the small shower stall and sent shivers down Aubrey's spine. She almost forgot to join her because she was so enraptured.

Beca's eyes met Aubrey's as the blonde turned the song into a duet. She felt her walls give way under Aubrey's forest green eyes, and her breath hitched slightly. There eyes held each other for several seconds after they ceased singing.

"Wow," Aubrey whispered. She hadn't wanted to ruin the moment, but if she hadn't spoken, there was no way she would have been able to stop herself from surging forward to kiss Beca—under normal circumstances, maybe not that big of a deal, but they were still naked. In the shower. After Aubrey had just forced herself into the poor freshman's shower.

She held her breath for a second and looked away from Beca to calm down before meeting Beca's eyes again. "Saturday. Bella auditions. You should be there."

She left the shower as quickly as she dared, worried the stray RA might still be around—worried Beca might say no. That night, Aubrey had been happy, but anxious. If Chloe had noticed she didn't say anything. She knew she was acting weird though, jumpy. She was waiting for Chloe to ask, and Aubrey knew she would never lie to Chloe which meant telling her about her morning with Beca.

The next week passed slow. Aubrey kept a look out for Beca around campus, but it seemed like the freshman was avoiding her. Aubrey didn't really blame her, but it did leave her disappointed all the same.

When Saturday finally came Aubrey felt so anxious, she was surprised she wasn't vibrating in place. With each passing audition, she grew more and more tense. Her jaw was sore from how hard she was clenching her teeth. When Justin announced that auditions were over, she could have cried. Chloe opened her mouth to say something to Aubrey, assuming that her friend was upset about their prospects, but when Aubrey's eyes suddenly lit up, she snapped her mouth shut.

"Wait!" Aubrey yelled. "There's one more."

Chloe looked back to the stage, and felt her lip curl as a short brunette stepped out from backstage. She did a double take back to Aubrey who had suddenly relaxed, smiling back against her seat, and Chloe scowled further. Had Aubrey invited her?

"I didn't know we were supposed to prepare that song," Beca said with a grimace as she moved cautiously to stand in front of the pair of captains.

"That's okay," Aubrey smiled warmly at Beca. "Sing whatever.

"But Aubrey—" Chloe was cut off by a glare from her friend.

Beca stepped forward and then settled down onto the stage, crossing her legs. She pointed to a cup of pens that sat between Chloe and Aubrey, "May I?"

Aubrey nodded her head and Beca grabbed the cup and dumped the pens onto the table making sure that none of them fell onto the floor. When Beca sat back on the stage, she set the cup in front of her upside down and began a quiet percussive beat. Her alto voice joined the beat soon after.

Aubrey felt like she was hearing Beca for the first time all over again. She was mesmerized by the sound. She honestly felt like she could fall in love with Beca just by listening to her sing—a thought that startled her enough to look sideways at Chloe to make sure her friend hadn't seen her going gooey-eyed.

Chloe was looking at Beca like she'd grown a third head. No way could this walking travesty have a voice like that. She was better than ninety-percent of the other singers they'd heard that day. It wasn't acceptable. Beca didn't even like acapella. And she definitely wasn't Bella material.

When Beca finished her song, Aubrey was all teeth with a smile that stretched across her face. The sound of a throat clearing distracted her from the compliment she was about to bestow upon Beca, and instead she turned to Chloe who was handing a pink audition sheet to the freshman.

"You need a form," Chloe said not looking up from her stack of papers that she was now slowly shuffling into a neat pile. "You didn't prepare the audition song, so don't expect to hear from us."

Beca's face fell, and Aubrey looked at Chloe. The red head gave her a look like "well she didn't."

They argued that day. Aubrey and Chloe had never fought before, but Aubrey fought for Beca on their team like she was trying to save a puppy from being euthanized—like Beca's life depended on being in this group. And while maybe it wasn't Beca's life on the line, Aubrey didn't even know how much Beca needed to be a part of the Bellas. Her dad had made her a deal that she needed to join a club or organization, and so far, the Bellas were the only thing she thought she could stomach. She certainly wasn't going to spend an hour running in a circle with those kids she saw at orientation.

It took three hours before Chloe finally relented and agreed to recruit Beca. Aubrey had a point. They needed extra members in case they lost some along the way. Chloe just hoped Beca would be one of the ones that they lost.

Beca was surprised at how happy she was when Aubrey showed up at her dorm that night—even if she did seem like an axe murderer with that hood. Beca had actually sort of enjoyed being kidnapped by Aubrey, and not even in a kinky way. She liked the closeness of Aubrey's hand guiding her from her lower back, and how Aubrey had to press close to Beca to pull the hood off later that night.

Aubrey knew exactly what she was doing too. She pressed herself Beca just enough to be misconstrued as innocent, just enough to be seen as Aubrey being a touchy kind of person—which she wasn't. And Chloe noticed.

She had been watching the way Aubrey interacted with Beca. She had been watching how Aubrey stood just a little closer to Beca than any of the other Bellas when she pulled her hood off, how Aubrey had watched Beca during the anti-Treblemaker part of their oath as if trying to gauge Beca's reaction, and how Aubrey had winked to Beca when she handed the freshman the goblet of wine when all was said and done. Aubrey had a crush but she wasn't going to let that ruin her last chance at a national title.

Chloe decided to give her best friend the benefit of the doubt. It was hood night. Aubrey could work off her frustrations, and hopefully forget about Beca. That hope was unfortunately dashed when Chloe caught sight of Beca talking to one of the new Trebles and Aubrey watching from several feet away as she pretended to listen to Amy. She couldn't tell if Beca was flirting with Jesse or not, but it didn't seem to matter because his existence was all it took to rub both Chloe and Aubrey the wrong way, though for entirely different reasons.

It took an hour and at least three drinks before Aubrey finally got up the nerve to approach Beca. She did so quietly, coming to stand beside the equally quiet freshman without a word. Beca had spent most of the last hour watching others enjoy themselves from the sideline and a half full red solo cup rested in her hand.

"I'm glad you showed up," Aubrey said quietly. "I didn't—I didn't think you would."

Beca didn't respond right away, choosing instead to follow Chloe's figure across the party as she went to replenish her drink. "I wasn't going to."

Aubrey nodded. "But you did."

Beca smirked at her. "When a hot blonde shows up naked in my shower, begging, I try not to disappoint."

"Do you often have hot blondes show up in your shower?" Aubrey said stepping closer to Beca. Aubrey knew she was a little drunk, but damn if Beca didn't make her feel a little light headed anyway. She wanted to be close to the brunette.

"Only ones that force me to sing," Beca laughed, bumping her hip against Aubrey's. It was enough to make the blonde feel a little off-balance so she reached out to grab Beca's arm. Beca smirked at Aubrey. "Had a little to drink, huh?"

"Maybe a little," Aubrey smiled and straightened herself. She was very close to Beca now. Aubrey's front was up against Beca's arm which she hadn't released. "I'm really glad you came."

"I'm kind of glad I came too," Beca said leaning back against one of the concrete seats. She felt awkward saying it. She didn't do emotions. Even admitting she was happy to be at a party felt too intimate.

"Let's go dance," Aubrey said suddenly yanking Beca off her seat by her arm. She yelped as she tried to keep up with Aubrey down the stairs.

"You do realize my legs are only like two feet long right," Beca yelled after her. "Holy shit, dude. You're gonna break my legs."

"You're fine," Aubrey said as she reached the bottom of the stairs and caught Beca on the bottom step. "Just means I get to hold onto you," she finished with a wink. Beca snorted. She wasn't drunk enough for this yet. She told Aubrey to hold on for a second while she got herself a new drink and downed it almost immediately, then got another.

"I needed to get on your level," Beca said as she returned to Aubrey. Without an answer, Aubrey pulled her out into the crowd and laid her arms over Beca's shoulders. After about five songs, both women were seriously feeling the effects of their drinks thanks to Stacie who had been passing around shots to the other Bellas. Aubrey still managed to drink twice as much as Beca though. With each song, Aubrey and Beca only got closer and closer to each other until Aubrey's back was pressed against Beca's front and they were rocking slowly against each other to the beat of the song.

Beca was feeling incredibly warm by this point. Aubrey was making her feel things that she knew she was better not feeling about her new captain.

"God you're sexy," Beca whispered to herself then quickly glanced to Aubrey's face to see if the blonde had heard her. Apparently, she had, because Aubrey was smirking at Beca. Here eyes were half-lidded and had darkened considerably since the beginning of the night.

"You know," Aubrey said as she turned around. She leaned in against Beca and whispered next to her ear. "We could head back to my place."

Beca shivered at Aubrey's hot breath against her ear. She wanted nothing more than to say yes. She really did, but Aubrey was drunk. It wouldn't be right. So no, she couldn't. But she could at least make sure that Aubrey got home safe, so rather than answer, she grabbed Aubrey's hand and tugged her out of the crowd. Aubrey took the lead soon after they left the amphitheater and pulled Beca close to her. She wrapped an arm around Beca's waist and leaned heavily into her.

They reached Aubrey's apartment after about fifteen minutes of walking. Luckily it was a cool, clear night and there was no rush. Beca quite enjoyed the closeness of the walk, even with Aubrey occasionally stumbling into her. She wasn't exactly sober herself so she would sometimes stumble right back.

Aubrey fumbled with the keys in her hand until she managed to get them into the lock and push the door open. The apartment was neat and simply decorated. Beca thought it fit Aubrey's personality.

"You have a roommate?" Beca asked, curious.

"Yeah," Aubrey said as she collapsed onto the couch and kicked her shoes off into the wall. She let out a soft "oops" in response. "Chloe. She probably won't be home tonight."

"You live with Chloe?" Beca asked. Shit. She really shouldn't be there then. "I should go then."

"Why?" Aubrey pouted.

"Bree…" Beca said. Aubrey grinned at the nickname. "Chloe hates me. I probably shouldn't be here when she gets home."

"She won't be home tonight," Aubrey said as she grabbed Beca's arm and pulled her down onto the couch. "Please stay with me."

"That damn pout," Beca said to herself. "Fine. But Aubrey…"

She wasn't sure how to even say it without it sounding like a rejection. She liked Aubrey. There was no question about that. But she definitely couldn't do anything with her while she was drunk.

"But Beca…" Aubrey mimicked.

Beca bit her lip, which was probably a mistake because it immediately distracted Aubrey.

"Aubrey," Beca said pulling back from the blonde to sit on the couch and face her. "I'll stay tonight. But you know we can't do anything right?"

"Why?" Aubrey said quietly. She looked sad.

"You're drunk, Bree," Beca explained. "It wouldn't be right. If we sleep together, I want to remember it. I want _you_ to remember it."

Aubrey contemplated that idea for a second. "You have to go on a date with me then."

"Oh really?" Beca said smirking. "And what makes you think I want to date you?"

"Oh please," Aubrey snorted. "You drooled when you saw me in that shower."

"I liked what I saw," Beca said. She smiled at Aubrey. A real genuine smile. "I would love to go on a date with you."

Beca spent the night on Aubrey's couch after Aubrey decided there was no way the tiny freshman was going to walk alone across campus where all those frat boy predators lurk. Beca thought she was ridiculous, but was also sort of flattered that Aubrey cared about her safety. She woke the next morning to a cup of hot coffee next to her on the coffee table and a note that let her know Aubrey had gone on a run and she was welcome to her fridge.

She had no idea how Aubrey could be out running after the amount of alcohol she'd consumed the night before. Beca herself stayed huddled on the couch with her cup of coffee clutched to her chest. She wasn't a morning person, and she already sort of loved Aubrey for making her coffee. She figured she should probably leave soon though. The first Bella rehearsal was that afternoon and Beca needed to wash the booze out of her pores.

She left a responding note for Aubrey and then began the trek back across campus. She was ready to go to rehearsal about twenty minutes before she actually had to be there. She had no clue what to expect from an acapella rehearsal, especially if Chloe was in charge.

To her relief, it seemed like Aubrey ran most of the rehearsals for the Bellas. Though what they did that afternoon could barely be considered a rehearsal. It was more like gym class. They ran laps and stairs for almost an hour. Beca felt like she was dying, but was highly amused by Aubrey slapping her ass every time she passed by.

Beca felt Chloe's eyes on her the whole rehearsal. It was like Chloe was trying to melt her brain. Her hopes for Aubrey directing all of the rehearsal were later dashed when Chloe took over to start teaching them choreography. Chloe was harsh. She made them repeat sequence after sequence until Beca felt like her feet were going to start bleeding. And she knew that Chloe was teaching them the same dance routine that the Bellas had performed the year before. It had her constantly rolling her eyes.

"Roll your eyes any more and they'll roll out of your head," Chloe had said reacting to Beca's disdain.

"You sound like my father," Beca said as she moved through the next segment of choreography.

"At least I don't dance like your father," Chloe responded with a glare.

Beca snorted. Honestly, she kind of liked arguing with Chloe. Pissed off Chloe's face matched her hair. "Yeah, you're worse," Beca said.

"Ladies," Aubrey warned as she walked over to Beca. She stood behind her and grabbed her arms as she moved through one of the more complicated hand motions and guided her through it. She dropped her mouth close to Beca's ear and whispered, "We need to decide when I get to take you on our date."

Beca chuckled and turned her head slightly to look at Aubrey. "You think I'm still gonna go on a date with you after you made me do cardio?"

"Maybe I have another workout in mind," Aubrey said huskily into Beca's ear. A shiver dashed down Beca's spine.

"Tease," Beca muttered.

"Alright ladies," Chloe called from behind them. "Let's call it a day. I expect to see you here tomorrow evening on time and ready to run."

"Is she always like this," Beca asked Aubrey.

"No." Aubrey frowned. "She wasn't like this until after nationals last year. If anything, I would have been the hardass normally."

"I bet it's hot when you boss people around," Beca smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Aubrey said. Beca just nodded, liking the idea more than she would have thought. Aubrey laughed.

They were interrupted when Chloe cleared her throat behind Aubrey. "We need to plan tomorrow's rehearsal," she said noticing how close Beca and Aubrey were standing.

"Right," Aubrey said. She gave Beca a sad look. "I'll text you later okay?"

Rehearsals followed that pattern for the next couple weeks as they approached their first performance. Beca would piss Chloe off until inevitably Aubrey would step between them and distract Beca with mild flirting until Chloe moved on. Aubrey and Beca were able to plan a few dates in that time. Nothing fancy as Beca just wasn't that kind of woman. She preferred laid back where she could get to know Aubrey without the pressure of dressing up or worrying about her image. They still hadn't said anything to Chloe though. Aubrey couldn't imagine how her best friend would react. She'd be angry that's for sure. But Aubrey knew that Chloe wasn't dumb. She knew that Chloe had noticed something was different. She just wasn't sure if she'd noticed what.

Their first performance was a disaster that culminated in Chloe revealing that she had vocal nodules, a condition that had made Aubrey gasp in concern. Beca felt bad for the redhead. If they were that bad than it made returning to the ICCA's that much harder for Chloe. And even though Chloe hated her, Beca kind of understood why she was such a bitch—didn't mean she was going to lay off on her though. Chloe needed to be willing to work with the rest of the Bellas. They needed to be themselves, not the old Bellas.

By the time regionals came around, Beca and Aubrey were attached at the hip whenever Chloe wasn't around. Beca tried not to let it bother her, but she knew Chloe was important to Aubrey and she couldn't help wondering if Aubrey was ashamed of dating Beca. Aubrey had noticed that Beca seemed a little more reserved now whenever Chloe was around. She bickered less with the redhead and made fewer passes at her girlfriend-not-girlfriend.

Regionals seemed to make things worse for Beca. After throwing a punch to protect Jesse, and then tossing a trophy through a window, Beca found herself tossed into a jail cell. And because Aubrey couldn't let Chloe know that she was basically in love with her rival, there were very few ways that Aubrey could help Beca. Jesse ended up being the one to call Beca's father and bailed her out.

When Beca got back to her dorm that night and found the Bellas had camped out on her bunk at first she'd been happy, but then she'd fought with Chloe. And this time she wasn't even trying to fight with Chloe, she was trying to help. They needed a new set list, even Aubrey could agree with that, but Chloe was adamant that they return to nationals the same way that they'd gotten there the first time. Beca's mixes were personal so the fact that she was willing to share them meant a lot. And then she got completely rejected.

And that just added to the rejection she was already feeling when Aubrey hadn't been the one to bail her out, but the guy who she was constantly rejecting. Beca could feel herself pulling away from the group—feel herself pulling away from Aubrey. It made everything that happened at semi-finals sort of inevitable.

"I told you she wasn't a Bella." The words had echoed through her mind like a gun shot in a canyon.

"Chloe don't—" Aubrey started.

"It's okay Aubrey," Beca said. The hurt was evident in her eyes and she could feel the tears welling. "I mean, it's not like you ever wanted me here anyway."

Beca left before she could hear any of the words that followed. She knew it was a bad idea to join the Bellas. She knew it was a bad idea to even become friends with any of them, so why had she even bothered. It was obvious enough by how Aubrey kept her as a dirty little secret that she'd only wanted her there for her voice.

Beca knew she was being a little dramatic, and didn't completely believe everything she was thinking, but that little voice of self-doubt was yelling at her for being stupid enough to get her into this situation in the first place. Not even Jesse was able to cheer her up any. Normally the overexuberant Treble was just ridiculous enough to crack a smile from Beca, but now Beca had completely blocked herself off from everyone. She ignored every text Aubrey sent her and any text form any of the Bellas. It killed her a little to do it, but she thought it might hurt more to talk to them.

The Bellas didn't fair much better. Aubrey had shut herself away in her room after losing Beca, and Chloe couldn't figure out what had happened. It took two days for Aubrey to finally open up to Chloe that she and Beca had been dating since basically hood night and now she'd lost her because she couldn't bring herself to tell Chloe about them.

While Chloe couldn't understand the appeal of dating Beca, she felt sort of terrible for the role she'd played in their breakup. Aubrey admitted they never really put a title on their relationship so it wasn't really a breakup, but none of Aubrey's breakups had ever hurt as much as Beca and her's. Chloe loved Aubrey so that Aubrey was so miserable made her feel incredibly guilty.

It surprised the hell out of Beca when Chloe showed up at her dorm several days after semis. There had been a knock at the door, and Beca had gotten up and answered only to be pushed out of the way as Chloe marched into her room.

"Look," Chloe said. "We don't have to like each other. We don't even need to get along, but you can't block Aubrey out because you hate me."

Beca blinked. She didn't think Aubrey would ever tell Chloe about them, but she swallowed down the surprise and processed every thing Chloe had said.

"I don't hate you?" Beca said and watched the surprise flicker across Chloe's face. "Not completely anyway."

"Does it matter?" Chloe asked raising an eyebrow. "Aubrey loves you and she's locked herself in her bedroom crying because you won't listen to her apology."

"Aubrey loves me?" Beca asked, eyes wide.

"Isn't it obvious?" Chloe responded. Beca shook her head.

"Aubrey wouldn't even tell her best friend about us," Beca said, and Chloe nodded.

"Well we didn't exactly make that easy on her did we?" Chloe laughed.

"I guess not," Beca said. "Look I'll talk to her. But I'm going to do it when I'm ready."

Chloe nodded and turned around to leave the dorm but paused for a second. "Beca?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't hate you either," Chloe said then turned and left the room.

Beca still hadn't talked to Aubrey when she got the text from Chloe that the Bellas were moving on to the finals because another group was disqualified. Beca debated for hours whether she would show up to that rehearsal or not. Chloe's words still stung as they ricocheted through her mind. Maybe she really wasn't a Bella. And she wasn't sure she was ready to see Aubrey.

But she showed up anyway—an hour late. And she arrived to mass chaos. A puddle of vomit sat in the middle of the rehearsal space and she could only guess that Aubrey had gotten too anxious. Chloe and Aubrey were wrestling over the Bella pitch pipe and the remaining girls were watching in shocked awe.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Beca yelled as walked further into the room.

"Beca?" Aubrey reacted immediately. She sat up and released the pitch pipe from her hand which Chloe snatched up.

"Um, hey," she said quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Aubrey responded.

Beca tapped her foot against the floor and shifted her weight. "Chloe texted me."

"Chloe?" Aubrey turned shocked to her best friend. As did the rest of the Bellas.

"What?" Chloe said. "We would be a person short with out her… and, while it pains me to say this, she might have some points. We need to change up our style if we're going to win ICCA's. And if we're going to do that, we need Beca."

Beca nodded once at the redhead understanding that this was Chloe's olive branch. They might never get along completely, but they could work together for a common goal.

"Alright Beca," Aubrey said taking a few steps closer to the freshman. "What do we do?"

"Um, maybe not here," Beca said grimacing as she pointed toward the puddle of vomit that lay on the floor not too far from the group.

They agreed to meet later that evening in the empty pool where they'd had the riff off. It was the first time the group had really listened to each other.

Later, when all the Bellas had arrived, Beca circled them together and made eye contact with them all.

"Alright," she said. "Aubrey, would you please pick a song?"

"Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are," she said. She didn't even hesitate which surprised Beca some.

"Chloe, mind taking the lead?"

The senior nodded and began the opening lines. Beca joined her several lines later with Just a Dream before passing the solo off to Aubrey. She directed the group through the songs starting different vocal beats and rhythms to fill it out. She knew there was a meaning to the songs she and Aubrey chose, but she wasn't sure she wanted to think too hard about it. She knew Aubrey was watching her as she sang. And she knew Aubrey wanted her to look at her, but she couldn't bring herself to meet the blonde's eyes. Everything still felt too fresh, and she wasn't sure where she stood with Aubrey. When they finished the song, they agreed to meet in two days after Beca had time to create a set list and they all went their own ways—except Aubrey and Beca.

They stared at each other for several seconds, neither sure which was meant to break the silence. Aubrey was the first to break.

"I'm sorry," she said and took several steps towards Beca. "I should have told Chloe, and I should have stood up for you."

"Aubrey," Beca said softly. "You don't need to apologize for that. I should have been more understanding—I just got insecure. I didn't want to be your secret. I wanted to be your girlfriend…"

"You should have been my girlfriend," Aubrey said. "I would be proud to call you my girlfriend."

Beca chuckled softly, but tears were pricking at her eyes. "God, I'm so stupid."

"Hey," Aubrey said moving over to Beca and pulling her into a hug. "You're not stupid. We both made mistakes. And we're both kind of emotionally stunted."

"Got that right," Beca mumbled. She pulled away from Aubrey and missed her warmth immediately. "I need to apologize too. This would probably be better directed at Chloe, but I'm sorry for what I did at semis. And I'm sorry I took out my insecurities on you."

"Becs," Aubrey said. When Beca looked up at Aubrey, she surged forward and captured Beca's mouth with her own. Beca's lips moved against Aubrey's in a dance she knew better than any other. God, had she missed kissing Aubrey. She knew she missed it, but she didn't know how much she missed it until Aubrey was kissing her.

Beca threaded her hands into Aubrey's hair and pulled the blonde closer while Aubrey's hands landed on Beca's hips grasping at the material of her shirt. When Aubrey nipped at her bottom lip, Beca gasped and welcomed Aubrey's tongue eagerly into her mouth. She hadn't even realized Aubrey had been walking them backward until Beca felt her back hit the far wall of the empty pool and she let out a soft groan. Her stomach was doing back flips over the way Aubrey's lips moved on hers and the way her body pressed up tightly against her.

Their lips slowed down to lighter kisses and they just enjoyed the feeling of each other. Eventually they needed to break for air as both women were feeling lightheaded. When they pulled back, Aubrey rested her head against Beca's, neither opened their eyes until Beca whispered something to Aubrey and then Aubrey's eyes had shot wide open and she squeaked a high pitch "what?"

"I said—" Beca rolled her eyes. "I said I love you."

Aubrey's mouth flopped open, but Beca could see the twinkle in her eyes—the happiness in her eyes.

"I don't need you to say it back," Beca said quietly. "I just had to get that out of my system. I know you might not feel the s—"

Beca was cut off by lips once again covering hers, but this time softly and chastely. Just a simple touch of lips. It made Beca hum at the sweetness of the gesture.

"Beca," Aubrey said opening slightly glazed green eyes to meet Beca's deep navy blues. "I love you too."


End file.
